Photo: Contributed

The opiate crisis in the Okanagan has been front and centre of late. 

From used syringes showing up in public spaces to an increase of unconfirmed overdoses in Vernon, the issue is touching everyone's lives regardless of socioeconomic background. 

The latest numbers released from Interior Health provide a glimpse of what is happening in our communities. 

Surveillance data is put together by nurses and paramedics and is based on overdoses reported to the Medical Health Officer and do not represent all overdoses that occur in the community.

From March 1, 2017 to February 28, 2018 there were 845 overdoses reported.

The vast majority of reported overdoses were reported in Kelowna (274) Vernon (184) and Penticton (126). The next closest region was Kamloops (82).

While not 100 per cent accurate, the interior health numbers reported seem to support what the B.C. Coroners Service reported earlier in the year — 65 per cent of overdoses reported are occurring in men (550). 

The events reported were broken down to further:

Self Reported Use at Time of Overdose-Using Alone 

• Alone 258 — 31 per cent
• Not alone 402 — 48 per cent 
• Unknown 125 — 15 per cent 
• Not Answered 60 — 7 per cent 

Self-Reported Drug Use History

• Daily 270 — 32 per cent 
• Weekly 103 — 12 per cent 
• Occasional/Infrequent 174 — 21 per cent 
• Unknown 238 — 28 per cent 
• Not Answered 60 — 7 per cent 

Self-Reported Substances Used at Time of OD

• Heroin 353 — 42 per cent  
• Illicit Stimulants 168 — 20 per cent

Photo: Interior Health

Emergency departments report known or suspected opioid overdoses to the Medical Health Officer.  

An exact count of illicit drug overdoses is not possible from this data; hence, these measures should be considered only an estimate.